him, none had made him feel uncomfortable or watched. Perhaps having a billionaire mountain retreat location so close had made them used to seeing famous faces around town. Relieved, he let a little of his guard down.
There was an eccentric mix of people in Eureka Springs, he observed. Some were clearly tourists with their maps and fanny packs, matching t-shirts and tired, hungry children. Others were wearing dark clothes and even darker make-up, and some even wore costumes as if it were still Halloween. College-age adults made up a huge number of people walking by, and he continually caught snippets of conversations about ghosts. He’d never had much interest in ghost stories, but apparently people who did were drawn to this place.
Across the street, he spotted a woman walking fast, her long, wavy auburn hair streaming behind her. She waved and said hello to people as she passed, and Liam sat there as if glued to his seat.
How had he forgotten how beautiful she was?
No, not forgotten. More like he’d filed it away and hadn’t pulled that file out in months. Almost a year. Not since Hawaii.
Viola Nightingdale.
She turned a corner and he jumped up from his chair to go after her. He pushed through the thickening crowd, and up ahead, he saw her go into Callie’s pet store, From Wags to Wishes.
Chapter 4
Viola walked into From Wags to Wishes, the bell jingling to announce her arrival. Allison stood at the register, restocking the custom dog treats in the case. The store was packed, even for a Saturday afternoon, but no customers stood at the counter yet.
Viola walked up and knew to steer clear of the frosted treats on a plate near the register with the sign, Take one for your pup! “Is Callie here?”
Allison looked up, smiling. “No. She won’t be in again until tomorrow.”
“Okay, thanks.” Viola knew she could have just called, but she had a few minutes to kill between clients and wanted to walk through town and to feel the energy of Eureka Springs.
She turned toward the door, then stopped, her heart in her throat, when she saw Liam Nichols standing there. She blinked, feeling jarred. Like one moment she’d been living one life, and in the next she was on a completely different trajectory. One year ago, at Callie and Xander’s wedding, she had spent the most amazing four days of her life with Liam—never having fallen so hard for someone so quickly—and then he’d left her standing by the resort pool, waiting for him. She’d worried as time ticked by, as the sun went down, as her text went unanswered, when she found his room empty.
Xander informed her the next morning that Liam had had to rush back California for work.
Without so much as even a call or a reply to her text. It wouldn’t have been hard to come to their meeting spot and let her know he was leaving. Instead, he just left her waiting for him for hours, completely forgotten.
Pretty much the story of her life, so she didn’t know why she’d been so taken aback. She’d fooled herself into thinking Liam was different. Why? Because he was rich and handsome? Because he was Xander’s brother, and she’d spent all week seeing how happy Xander made Callie? Turned out he was just like the rest of them after all.
“Viola,” he said, pulling her back into the present. He’d moved through the people in the store to stand closer to her, his gaze open and intense.
He looked thinner than he had last year, like he hadn’t been taking care of himself the way he should.
Like he should’ve spent the entire week in the Hawaiian sun instead of just four days. Even so, he could have just stepped off the cover of a magazine, wearing his slacks and button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, the top button on his shirt undone.
He cleared his throat. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” She shifted back on her heels. How did one speak to the person who probably didn’t even know they’d broken your heart? For all she knew, having a fling on an island was a weekly event for him. Perhaps that was why he could leave so easily, while it felt like her heart had been torn out.
Viola skirted around him to head to the door, calling over her shoulder, “Well, it was nice to see you.”
“Wait!” He followed her out onto the bustling sidewalk. “How have you been? Since Hawaii?”
“Good,” she told